Recipe

Cut all the vegetables into small dice, because this stock cooks quickly. Don’t allow it to cook longer than specified below; if cooked too long, it develops an overly fishy taste. I often mix Fish Stock with an equal amount of Chicken Stock for poaching fish (see Poached Salmon with Lemon Butter Sauce), as I find fish stock alone is a little too strong.

Yield: Makes 1 quart

Ingredients

3 pounds fish bones from lean white fish (snapper, bass, or flounder)

2 tablespoons butter

1 leek, cleaned and cut into 1-inch pieces, both white and green parts

1 medium onion, cut into small dice

4 stalks celery, cut into small dice

½ head garlic, unpeeled, halved crosswise

1 small bunch thyme

1 small bunch parsley, stems only

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

2 cups white wine

4 cups water

Directions

Place the fish bones in a large bowl and rinse under cold running water until the water in the bowl is clear. Drain well.

In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the leek, onion, celery, and garlic, and sauté until softened but not browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the thyme, parsley, peppercorns, and bones, cover, and cook over low heat for 10 minutes.

Remove the cover and add the wine and water. Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil; reduce the heat to medium and simmer 40 minutes, skimming occasionally. Strain through a fine strainer, pushing down on the solids to extract all the liquid.

Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate up to 1 week. After 3 days, bring to a boil. Then boil, skim, and cool every 2 days; or freeze.